North Carolina Women's Preaching Festival

Festival Schedule

October 25-26, 2018

Thursday, October 25:1:00-2:30 pm – Opening Reception on garden patio, weather permitting, featuring refreshments and a communal art project led by Claudia Fulshaw: Collective Wisdom
What did your grandmother or even your great grandmother have to say? What was her mantra, her wisdom, her one-liner, her I-told-you-so that has stuck with you throughout your life? How about your mom, your aunt, your sister, your daughter, your granddaughter? During the Opening Reception, write down these guiding words authored by your sages. When the festival closes on Friday, these pearls of wisdom will have been transformed into a piece of art, sharing “her voice through the generations,” with printed copies available for each participant to take home.

Friday, October 26:
8:30-9:00 am – Registration and coffee
9:00-10:00 am – Preaching Lecture – Rev. Jerusha Neal, Ph.D: The Haunted Pulpit: Getting Rid of Preaching’s Unholy Ghosts
Preaching is one of God’s greatest gifts to the church, but walking into a pulpit often means facing some unholy ghosts. Fears of meeting other’s expectations, confusion about preaching’s goal, and the weight of our own histories can mute our voices and make us doubt our calls. The Holy Spirit is about the business of replacing these fears and shadows with a real relationship with a risen Savior. What does preaching that testifies to that kind of embodied encounter look like? What are the marks of preaching that flows from a loving, living engagement with the scriptures, the gathered community and with God?